u/GreenTeachy

Hey friends.

I’m currently in an odd position.

I have always had PVCs but over the past week or so, they have exploded.

I’m currently able to trigger a PVC whenever I want.

A deep breath, a cough, sitting, standing, laying down, twisting my body, swallowing, etc.

For fun, I was able to lay down with my Apple Watch and make an ECG strip full of PVCs. I just took deep breaths and coughed and I was able to get 7 in 30 seconds of ECG.

I’m not sure how to get rid of this irritable heart situation I’m in…

I feel like this is forever. Will I be able to take a deep breath without feeling flutters and thumps again?

Hey friends.

I’ve always had PVCs throughout my adult life. They suck, but I’ve normal cardiac workups, normal echo, normal treadmill test, and everything seems ok.

However, this past week, I’ve been in a mess of ectopy.

It’s everytime I take a deep breath and/or cough. It’s everytime I lay down or switch positions.

Every. Time.

For fun, I went into my Apple Watch ECG and just through deep breathing and coughing, I was able to trigger 7 of them in 30 seconds.

What’s with this? What causes such an uptick in my heart irritability?

No alcohol, no caffeine, no drugs.

Hey friends.

I understand PVCs and PACs.

I know that on the basic level, it is essentially just “jumpy” or “erratic” heart cells that jump early, or beat from the wrong part of the heart.

The heart then resets itself with a pause and continues into a sinus rhythm.

What causes these erratic heart cells through?

Is it like when you are tired or stressed and your eye twitches (fasciculations?) or is it something completely different?

When it comes to things like SVT, and aFib, is that not another “erratic” heart thing, so if you have frequent PVCs, you are easily able to jump into a more dangerous rhythm?

Hey friends.

I remember my first ectopic beat.

I was in college.

I only had one noticeable one, and I thought I was dying.

Went to the hospital, I was obviously sent home.

Years later I’m 31 now, and my PVCs and PACs have blown up.

The worst I had was during grad school.

I was sitting in a chair and all of a sudden I felt a PVC, then another, then a pause…. And another.

I immediately had a cold sweat and I stood up and went “woah”

By then my heart was back in a (fast) sinus rhythm.

I’ve had all the workups.

Holter monitor for 2 weeks. Then another for another 2 weeks.

Stress test.

Echocardiogram.

It all came back normal.

But I do have frequent PVCs.

About 5%, so right on the threshold.

During the stress test, I did super well.

But during the cool down, I was a mess. I had couplets during the entire cooldown period.

My cardiologist doesn’t want me on medication because my resting heart rate is already in the high 40s naturally.

Ablation is really not on the table either, and to be honest, I don’t want to resort to it just yet… I’ve and bad experiences with post-op in surgeries.

What sucks the most is how everything is a trigger.

I eat, PVCs.

If I cough, PVC.

Going to the bathroom, PVCs.

Deep breath, PVCs.

I can trigger them and my anxious body is praying they go back into a sinus rhythm instead of a run of ectopics.

I was also recently diagnosed with OCD.

I just can’t stop the “checking” behavior. I’m always checking my pulse by pressing into my palm. Everytime I feel weird or dizzy throughout the day, I’m checking my pulse for ectopics.

I’m just so tired yall.